If you've got the nagging sense that your blog needs some attention, but you definitely don't have time for a full-scale redesign or relaunch ... take heart! These are all straightforward tips that don't take long to put into place ... but they should help readers to
engage more deeply with your blog.
#1: Encourage Readers to Get Your Blog Posts by Email
If you've been around the blogging world for a while, or if you're fairly techy-minded, you might well follow all your favourite blogs through an RSS reader like Feedly. (That's what I do.) But plenty of your readers won't be familiar with RSS. Instead, offer your RSS feed by email (I do this via Feedburner but you could also
send the emails through a service like MailChimp) and make the email sign-up prominent in your side bar. Of course you can continue to offer an RSS link, as I do ... but you might well find that most people opt for email updates.
Although this might take a little
bit of time to set up, it's something you only need to do once – and you can reap the benefits for months or years afterwards, as readers sign up to your blog and become loyal fans.
#2: End Every Post You Write with a Call to Action
A "call to action" just means asking the reader to do something. That could be:
- Put what they've just read into practice (you might give them instructions or
suggestions in a section headed "Action Steps" or "Exercise" or "Homework" or "Try it" ...)
- Leave a comment on the post (you may want to prompt readers with a specific question)
- Check out your book or product (this works best if you can draw some sort of link between it and the subject of your post)
... or almost anything else you can think of. Ask yourself what you want readers to do as a result of reading your post: ideally, you'll want to make this an action that
benefits both them and you. (E.g. Leaving a comment can help them to think through the post they've read, and may help them find like-minded readers to get to know.)
#3: Update Your "About" Page (and Keep Doing So Regularly)
If your blog's been going for a while, there's a good chance that your About page is getting a bit out of date. Spend twenty minutes giving it a quick update today. That could
mean:
- Updating personal details about you that have changed (e.g. where you live, the age of your kids)
- Adding in links to popular posts (consider a "Start Here" page if your blog has been going for a year or more)
- Editing details about your books or products, any services you offer, etc if these have changed
- Adding in names of blogs / publications you've written for
You'll want to continue updating your About page on a regular basis: it's one
of the first pages that new readers will look at. I have a recurring task in my to-do management software, Nozbe, that prompts me to check and update my About page every three months.
#4: Add (or Update) a Photo of Yourself
While I don't think it's mandatory to have a photo of yourself on your blog, it's a great way to build a connection with readers. A professional shot is great, if you have one – but any
nice, clear, smiling photo is fine too.
You may want to use a photo that ties in with your blog's theme: e.g. if you blog about writing, you might have a photo of yourself at your desk or standing by your books; if you blog about parenting, you might want a photo that shows you with your kids.
It's worth updating your photo every so often, especially if your appearance has changed significantly (e.g. you've dyed your hair, lost/gained
weight) so that readers who meet you in real life or who see you on video aren't thrown by the difference between your photo and how you now look.
#5: Remove Any Clutter from Your Blog's Sidebar
Over time, blog sidebars have a tendency to collect clutter (just like desks). That neat little widget you added two years ago might no longer be so useful or necessary – and it's distracting readers from the things you really want them
to see (like the email sign up widget).
Some key clutter culprits are:
- The "meta" widget that comes installed with WordPress by default – it's no use to readers, so remove it (bookmark any of the links from it that you need, if you want).
- A blogroll or list of links to other people's blogs. There's nothing wrong with linking to blogs you love, but do this on a single page rather than sitewide in your sidebar.
- Tag clouds – they tend to
look messy and they're not especially easy to use. A "search" option will give readers the same sort of functionality, where they can search for what they want to know.
You probably won't have time to do all of these at once: don't wait until you do! Pick one to tackle this week, one next week, and so on ... and in just over a month, your blog will be in great shape.